


Cash in Hand

by rainingover



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Bachelor Auction, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:27:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4484611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainingover/pseuds/rainingover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's simple," Himchan says and picks up his glass. "All you have to do is to make sure that no one but Yongguk wins me."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cash in Hand

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the B.A.P Bingo _Charity Bachelor Auction_ prompt.

Jongup has had a lot of part time jobs.

Paying rent in his neighbourhood is difficult even for his neighbours who have been on the career ladder for years. For penniless students who somehow managed to get themselves sweet-talked into signing a six month rental agreement for an apartment they really, really shouldn't have, it's downright impossible. So, Jongup has sold coffee and clothes, served cakes and cocktails, delivered pizzas and papers, and a whole myriad of other things.

He meets Himchan at his Thursday-Friday job, pouring tiny measures of wine into absurdly large glasses, for which his manager charges even more absurd prices.

Himchan orders, "a large glass of Château Talbot," and adds, "Also, I've got a job offer for you."

"A job offer?" Jongup pauses.

"Pour my wine and then I'll tell you."

Jongup doesn't like a lot of their regular drinkers, but he likes Himchan. He tips well, is still nice after three large glasses of red, and doesn't pretend to be anything he isn't. What he _is_ , is really fucking rich, and what he _isn't_ is ashamed of it.

He also doesn't treat Jongup like he's there solely to pour him drinks, although, really, that's what he's paid to do, so he wouldn't mind. Still, it's nice to serve a friendly face once in a while. Especially when they have a job offer.

"It's simple," Himchan says and picks up his glass. "All you have to do is to make sure that no one but Yongguk wins me."

" _Wins you_?"

"It's a charity auction. A bachelor auction."

"You're not a bachelor."

"That's just semantics." Himchan rolls his eyes. "At the auction, I'm the bachelor, and Yongguk is the bidder."

"Okay."

"It's called role-play."

"Yeah, I know that, I'm just-- processing. So how do I stop you from being- um- won by someone who isn't your own boyfriend?"

Himchan shrugs. "Any way you please."

"Right." Jongup glances at the bar, hopes he looks as though he's taking a regular order and not being persuaded to take on a side-job as a character in some weekend foreplay of one of their regular customers . "So I just hang out at the auction, distracting people from bidding on you? And once Yongguk-hyung has won a date with you, I just... Leave?"

"Exactly." Himchan smiles. "And then you can afford to take a weekend off from here and-- I don't know, do something students do. Drink cheap beer and make out with your hot tutor or something? Or someone pretending to be a hot tutor."

Jongup wonders whether Himchan thinks everyone's life is just one long role-play.

"I do need the money. How much did you say you would pay?"

Himchan sits up straight, puts down his wine glass. "I tell you what... We'll pay you a tenth of however much the bidding reaches. Cash in hand, of course." He looks pleased with this decision.

Jongup sums this up. It's a charity auction, so the bidding will be high. And Himchan hyung _is_ stupidly attractive, so--

"Deal."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Himchan grins. "Good. Can I take a bottle of this to go please?" He taps the glass. "Yongguk should be getting home soon, I'll go give him the good news."

Jongup returns to Himchan's table with his full bottle. Says, "When is it?"

"It's on Saturday night at the Eros."

"The what?"

"It's a theatre downtown, Jongup. Just a regular theatre." Himchan smirks.

"I didn't think it wasn't." Jongup lies and hands over the bottle of wine. "I'll be there."

\--

It's eight forty five at the appropriately named Eros Theatre. Jongup clutches his ticket, which he'd found in his letterbox that morning, much to his room-mate's curiosity. "It's for work." He'd shrugged, and had continued to eat his breakfast. And that had been that.

Jongup scans the room, is attempting to look for guys who he thinks might want to make his job difficult. As if anyone interested in bidding on Himchan will be completely obvious, maybe highlighted by a big arrow or a convenient spotlight. He has no such luck.

He spots Himchan's boyfriend on the left of the room, at a table on his own, and attempts a wave. Yongguk either doesn't see or doesn't want to, and Jongup guesses he must be in the zone. The about-to-battle-for-a-night-with-my-boyfriend-zone. If such a thing exists.

Jongup hopes he's willing to battle hard, because his rent is already a week late and he hasn't paid his phone bill either.

He tries not to think about this as the curtains open and the bachelors (fake or otherwise) make their entrance. They're all lined up in suits and ties, hair done, mouths drawn on in wide, toothy smiles, eyes sparking, working the room.

Himchan is dead centre and is clearly having fun. A lot of it, and especially when it comes to his turn.

An older man, flecks of grey in his hair, bids for Himchan first, and Jongup wonders how it feels to watch other people lay down money in exchange for your significant other.

Yongguk's lip curls into a satisfied smile as he raises his card to bid higher, which causes Himchan to wink at the man with the greying hair. He smiles as the man bids higher.

A woman in a white pant-suit bids for the first time, and then the flecks of grey is waving his card again. Himchan is still smiling.

Yongguk raises his hand next, and then the flecks of grey, and then Yongguk again, and maybe Jongup kind of gets it, in a way, how it could be exciting to play this game. Wonders if he'd have the courage to actually _do it_ , imagines blanking out for a split second and losing his long-term lover to a balding man with a bulging waistline... But then, that's why he's here isn't it? His job is to lower that risk.

Himchan is working the stage, running his tongue along his bottom lip, slowly, deliberately, and now the auctioneer barley has time to breathe between bids, the value of a date with Kim Himchan rising higher and higher, until the woman in the pant-suit folds, shakes her head and leans back in her chair.

It's between flecks of grey hair and Yongguk now, one more bid, two more, and--  Jongup realises this is his cue, knows he needs to jump in now.

He's at the man's elbow in all of three seconds. He bends down to his ear, explains how sorry he is to interrupt, but that he's a valet here and the gentleman's car alarm is going off outside,  and maybe he best accompany him out into the foyer to check on the vehicle.

Jongup prays internally that grey flecks drove to the auction and thanks his lucky stars as the man spares one last glance at the beautiful face on stage and pushes back his chair to follow Jongup out.

Yongguk gets the winning bid ten seconds later, and Himchan bites his lip. Speaks into the microphone, says, "I like them with a scowl," and winks as laughter ripples among the audience.

Jongup is still apologising to grey flecks for the misunderstanding about his car alarm as Himchan and Yongguk slip through the doors and into the foyer, Yongguk's hand at the small of Himchan's waist.

Jongup tries to remember how high the bidding had risen to when he'd ushered the rival bidder out of the auction hall. A figure close to double his yearly part time salary flashes before his eyes, and Jongup realises that with a tenth of that he can pay off his rent and still have money left over to actually go out and _do something_ at the weekend.

He bows once more at the grumbling owner of one car with no alarm ringing, and mumbles something about heading outside to speak to the other valets, escapes the theatre and heads into the street.

His employers for the night are outside waiting for their car, stealing kisses, wandering hands already. Himchan spots him as he tries to shuffle past, pulls away from Yongguk to say, "I'll drop your pay off tomorrow."

Jongup nods, says, "Have fun."

"Hey,  Jongup," Himchan calls as Jongup walks away. "The Jung Foundation are planning a charity bachelor auction for next month... " He trails off, but Jongup understands the question. 

"I'll think about it," He calls as he gets to the other side of the street, and wonders how on earth he'll go about describing this new job for his resume. 


End file.
